Vowed Ruin
by Marty21
Summary: As the wedding of Legolas' brother approached, the family does all in its power to overcome dark omems and survive till the final vows can be given
1. Slippery slopes

***Disclaimed, as always, I'm not so crazy yet as to think that I created this whole fantastical world and the characters inhabiting it.though be warned I have created quite a few of my own***  
  
Legolas sat on the edge of his brother's bed, shaking his head as his brother busied himself with the finishing touches of his dinner attire. It was amusing enough to see the nervous energy, as well as the over bounding joy that one could witness in him plainly. And though Legolas was happy for his brother, the whole idea of it kind of made him sick; Kaimelar said that was simply because he was not mature enough to understand, and now Legolas sat silent watching his brother, trying to solve the enigma of his brother's actions. Yes, it was natural, and it seemed that everyone eventually fell into the trap but still, Legolas couldn't help but wonder about the sense of the whole thing: what would you do the rest of your immortal life with one other person? Don't you get bored?  
  
"What do you think adar will say?" He finally asked, finding the silence along with his thoughts unbearable. Kaimelar continued to stare into the mirror adjusting one of his braids; Legolas rolled his eyes at his brother's vanity. For all of Kaimelar's bumbling with words he could certainly prim himself up to look like a prince; Legolas unconsciously fidgeted in his clothes.  
  
"I think adar will approve, I mean, he's always wanted to see me and Helyanwe married, he's often mentioned it. So, why should he not approve, have you heard something, did he hint at something?" Kaimelar asked suddenly worried as to why his brother would ask such a question without an impulse to do so, did his little brother know something that he did not know.  
  
"Actually, ada likes her and all, but, the thing is," Legolas lowered his voice, Kaimelar pulled himself from the mirror and leaned into his brother intently, "ada doesn't approve of you for her." After he had breathed out his tension, he shoved his brother, who fell back into bed, laughing. "It was funny Kai, admit it! Besides it's not so far from the truth."  
  
"You know, you become harder to live with every year that passes." Kaimelar teased, giving himself one last glance in the mirror. He watched his brother shrug his shoulders nonchalantly, giving his brother a huge grin, knowing full well he was playing the annoying little brother; he was entitled to it ever so often, especially after such events had occurred.  
  
"Well, Hely thinks I'm the sweetest thing to ever exist." Legolas retorted jumping of the bed, Kaimelar went to his brother draping his arm around the other's shoulders as they exited the room to dinner.  
  
"Yes, but she doesn't live with you baby Greenleaf." Rather than comment to the reference, which Legolas deemed the most uncouth of nicknames, he merely looked out his brother and stuck out his tongue. "Yes, little Las, you certainly do give the most amazing displays of maturity."  
  
"I know." The two made their way own the hallway, to the stairs, but Kaimelar hesitated in going down, it took Legolas around five stairs before he realized that his brother did not follow him. He turned, noticing his brother had turned a strange color of green, it was as if he was being asked to make a public speech in front of the whole kingdom and then some; that sickened frightened look.  
  
"Kai? You do remember how to make your way down right?" His brother made no response of hearing him, this wasn't good, Legolas decided, he ran back in front of his brother and sat him down on the top stair. It seemed like a good move, for Kaimelar made some type of strange low wailing sound; it wasn't a pleasant sound but it proved to Legolas his brother wasn't in some trance, it wasn't too far off for someone in their family to go into long time trances, Legolas thought amused and frightened in the hindsight of the memory. He gave his brother a shrug, to completely bring him back to Middle Earth.  
  
"What? Why are we sitting?" Kaimelar asked, looking suspiciously at his brother, assuming it was his fault somehow. Legolas ignored the incriminating look.  
  
"We're sitting here because you looked like you were going to take a dive down the stairs. You don't remember that?" Legolas asked.  
  
"I remember thinking about telling ada about the." he trailed off the distant sick look once again chiseling itself on his face, Legolas rolled his eyes, at this rate they would never get to dinner. Sitting was not helping, apparently his brother could go into a state both standing as well as sitting, so he pulled him back up to his feet; if he had to throw his brother down the stairs, he was willing to make that sacrifice for a nice warm dinner. "Wait!" Kaimelar suddenly yelled, so shocking Legolas that he lost his balance and tumbled down the stairs till he hit the bottom with a loud, not too pleasant thud. Kaimelar took a breath, before he ran down the stairs after his little brother, this was not going to help in breaking the news to his father.  
  
***  
  
Sildulin sat in front of the window with the easel in front of her, she was disappointed she would soon have to stop, it was turning out to be a nice painting for something starting out as a whim; it was the way the light shattered when it hit the little window and respectively competed for the attention of the spectator.  
  
"I do not understand why Kai is getting so nervous about this, it isn't that huge a deal, is it?" Helyanwe asked, pacing back and forth; though not originally nervous, Kai's worrying had built her into a panicked state. Sildulin smiled, though her attention remained on the painting at hand.  
  
"It isn't, adar will be more than excited over the news, I think in fact it will ease some worrying for him. He has been waiting for the day of this announcement." She noticed Helyanwe had stopped pacing and had thrown herself into an over sized armchair to the right of Sildulin.  
  
"That is what I thought, but Kai, he just kept going on and on," she sighed, beginning to feel relief once again, but also a bit foolish, she was very close to the King, of course he would welcome her to the family; and he knew how much they loved each other. This would be a very good thing she decided.  
  
"Anwe, how long have you known Kai? Has he not always been quite the worrier?" She finished one last brush stroke before calling it quits for the day; turning to her friend, more than her friend now, she was going to be her sister; it made her feel giddier than she had felt in years. It was as if they had returned to little elflings, laughing over some silly story, a small trifling treasure they had discovered; but this time it was not a trifle, it was huge.  
  
"Imagine if we have children." Helyanwe remarked with a laugh at the sight of the overprotective father figure of Kai keeping nervously busy everytime his children went out as to avoid going crazy with worry. Sildulin got up and squeezed into the armchair with her friend; life was going to be great when her brother and Helyanwe got married, it would bring such a new life to the family. Imagine if they did have children, another little elfling running about, she would love to see Legolas with his little nephew or niece, or both. He had been the last child of that household, she doubted he had ever seen a baby, much less held one. And with Kai looming over him to make sure the baby was not dropped, the thought made her join with in with her friend's laughter.  
  
"I do think only good things will come of this union," Sildulin said, hugging her friend, continuing to laugh as the action proved quite cumbersome in the confines of the chair. But their good time was brought to a premature halt, as a crashing sound from the hallway drew their attention, and then the sound of running down the stairs, drew them from their chairs and to the sight.  
  
By the time they got to the foot of the stairs, Kaimelar was kneeling over the limp form of Legolas, grimacing guiltily as the two girls approached. They both dropped to their own knees to look over the youngest of them.  
  
"What happened?" Sildulin asked, almost scolding her brother, she assumed Legolas was a little too immature to bother not to play around near the stairs, but Kaimelar? Her anger lessened as it looked like Legolas hadn't sustained any serious injuries.  
  
"He fell, I didn't shove him, it's a long story." Kaimelar stuttered, trying to recall exactly how this had happened. He was thinking about, no, he stopped himself, no use going down that road again, he knew full well what he had been thinking about, but then he said something, and Legolas fell. That was it. "How are you, my love?" He asked, noticing Helyanwe kneeling before him, he leaned in as she smiled, and the two kissed, but stopped as they heard a moan.  
  
"Please, no more torture, you have caused me enough pain already," Legolas whined, not wanting to open his eyes to that sight; was this how it was going to be when they were married? Constantly being sweet, and romantic all the time; he would move out, plain and simple, he was certain Lord Elrond would welcome him in the Rivendell household. Helyanwe looked down at her future brother.  
  
"How do you feel?" she asked. Legolas gave a half grin, then looked to his brother with malice, his brother made him fall down the steps, and now not only did he feel like someone had given him a good kicking, he felt stupid; he was going to hear the jokes about his inability to descend steps for a while.  
  
"Well, I'm not dead." Legolas groaned, beginning to pick himself up, trying to figure out if any pain stuck out more than any of the general soreness taking over his body; the bruise to his ego was pretty rough.  
  
"You know what I mean, maybe I should take you to one of the healing rooms?" Legolas shook his head, once you entered there you never came back, they seemed to continually to find things wrong with you, to the very smallest cut or scrape and the since he was one of the royal children, they treated him like spun glass until he was utterly healed. It was a nightmare to go there, it was good his brother was to wed one of the healers, this way he would never have to go to that evil place again, he could just call upon Helyanwe.  
  
"No, my head aches a bit, and my ankle feels slightly off, but I think I am absolutely fine." Helyanwe probed the area around his ankle, feeling for any bones out of place, she smiled once more at her patient.  
  
"It seems nothing is broken from you graceful flight from the stairs, but it looks like a pretty bad sprain, I'll that wrapped up for Prince Legolas." She turned then to the other prince, "Kai, dear, could you please run down to the Healing Wing and grab some bandages to wrap his ankle in. Thank you." Before he ran off he leaned down and kissed her once more, much to Legolas' disgust, then ran off, leaving his brother alone with the girls.  
  
"It's not like you to be so clumsy Las, what happened?" Sildulin asked, sitting herself at the foot of the stairs, while Legolas rested himself on his elbows, Helyanwe still focusing on his ankle, then checked his head for any contusions.  
  
"We were talking and he just stopped, so I tried to get him to continue, but he remained in this daze and I am looking at him and suddenly he just yells, throws me off, and I go flying." Legolas answered in one breath, swatting away Helyanwe's hands, as he knew he was basically fine. "Don't worry Hely, I just fell down the stairs, not off the roof or from the top of a tree." She gave him a playful shove at the allusion to past misadventures.  
  
"I suppose we can't leave you two unsupervised." Sildulin teased, as now Legolas was stranded helpless against the teasing banter of his sister and future sister, this was the downfall to being the youngest brother, Sildulin teasingly ruffling his hair.  
  
"You know if I was Kai, that would force me to go back up to pretty my hair again. You're in for quite a handful, I grant you that much Hely."  
  
"What are you saying about me, baby brother?" Legolas heard his brother's voice echo through the hall, as his footsteps approached them, they all began to laugh; what a spectacle they must be, Legolas thought.  
  
"Nothing prince." He returned as Kai appeared before them, carrying more than enough bandages, in fact, one might think he was preparing for battle with all the medical supplies he had. They all gave him a questioning glance; did he really think they would require all that?  
  
"When I asked for the supplies, they asked why, and I told them; it took some swift talking to stop them from rushing upon this very sight." Legolas rolled his eyes.  
  
"Swift talking, who was there with you?" Kaimelar lightly threw the cloth at his brother's face as his form of retort; Legolas gave a fake look of injury. It took Helyanwe a moment to wrap up Legolas ankle; she and Kaimelar pulled him up; Legolas using Kai as a means of support as they made their way to the dining hall.  
  
"Well it's all good and well that I'm okay, but how are we going to explain this to ada?" Legolas asked intently, not sure how his father would take the sight of his youngest roughed up again; he had just eased up on his overprotective attitude of late since the incident that had occurred nearly ten years ago, Legolas did not want to see the hovering become resurrected.  
  
"The truth, you fell down the stairs." Helyanwe relied, it seeming simple enough, none of them had done anything wrong, there was no trouble, it was an accident. The children of Thranduil looked to each other, knowing better than to think that the truth would work, especially since the truth seemed like some concocted lie to get out of trouble, especially since Legolas had tried to explain past scrapes on a tumble down the stairs rather than the truth. That was something he was regretting now; perhaps if he told the truth all the time then it might be more believable.  
  
"Maybe it will sound better coming from me, adar does not doubt my word in manners such as these as he does yours." Sildulin offered, that being the truth, Sildulin was the good one of the children. All along she had been the one to berate them for their poor behavior and try to keep some order; but everyone knew, their father included, that Legolas was Sildulin's weak spot, she was always soft when it came to her precious baby brother. That weak spot occasionally led to the break down of her own morals, as she often covered up for him and his actions.  
  
Legolas rubbed his head, as he began to feel a little dizzy, but kept it subtly to himself. The others so worried about Thranduil's reaction that the movement went unheeded by them.  
  
"We can pretend it never happened, my ankle will be better soon enough and he's been so busy, we only see him while seated at meals. And with the announcement all attention will be diverted to the lovebirds. We'll be fine." Legolas said to the six people surrounding him, when he thought about though, he was certain there was only three before.  
  
***Well, it's a new story. I hope you like it so far, I was tossing around the idea of going back and writing another young Legolas piece but this one came out instead so please tell me if you think I made the right choice, and just be warned I feel like this might be a longer one. So please read and review, it would be appreciated for those concerned, I think that would just be me though. Be updated soon.*** 


	2. The first falling

*Disclaimed* And side note: I did change the title but it is the same story.I hope it didn't confuse you but I didn't like the first title too much, so I changed it!  
  
The four of them sat silently at the table, Thranduil had yet to arrive; they had lucked out in that respect, unfortunately, whether it was induced from the head injury or just innate to his personality, Legolas had entered into a fit of laughter; making the others feel the need to overcompensate for his behavior.  
  
"I should have checked you head, you know you could have a concussion, or be going into shock of some sort, or I don't know." Helyanwe fussed from her seat, Kaimelar reached over and took her hand in a soothing fashion.  
  
"I doubt this behavior is at all related to your healing ability my love." At this Legolas burst into another fit, occasionally adding in a mock impersonation of his brother muttering, "my love," and other such comments. Kaimelar rolled his eyes, expecting nothing less of his brother; he was no worse than Elrohir was at that age when he thought of it. "Las, your going to be a dead give away something is up if you continue acting like this." Legolas nodded, attempting to put on the mask of stoic seriousness, and after a bit they all believed he could pull it off, but the moment their father stepped into the room he burst once again into laughter; earning a suspicious look from his father, since none of the others seem to have gotten the joke.  
  
"Something funny?" he asked taking his seat, eyeing them all; there was something amiss, he would have gone to Legolas for an answer, but something told him he wouldn't be able to get a serious answer from his son, in fact he was wondering if his son had cracked; or had he gotten into the wine? Could that be it, Kaimelar snuck him into the wine cellar and got him drunk? It wasn't as if he didn't allow his son to have the occasional drink, but allowing yourself to get so utterly inebriated, and before dinner, that was unacceptable. Sildulin saw the shift her father's eye; there was a twinge of anger as he regarded the scene, and as soon as she took a step back from her knowledge, she saw exactly what he saw. This was not going to bode well, they might as well tell the truth, it was an accident, that was it; but then again who would believe that?  
  
"Adar, we were beginning to worry you were going to lock yourself in your study with work, but we are glad you joined us." Kaimelar voiced, somehow managing to take control of the situation, with a deft calm that was unlike him; lending to his father's suspicions all the more.  
  
"Oh? Certainly seems as though Legolas is glad." Legolas face went cold at the sound of his name, but his ears perked up; till that point in the conversation he hadn't really noticed anyone speaking, certainly his father. Come to think of it, he felt a little strange, it was funny up until that point, but now, while he was noticing, the world seemed to be double; it would have been funnier if it wasn't also spinning, that was making him feel, well, a little nauseous. The laughter completely died away.  
  
Everyone around the table watched as Legolas' eyes unfocused; and as he slid from his chair to the floor, reminded some of the incident that occurred nearly ten years before, fresh still in their minds. They all rose and rushed over, breathing a sigh of relief as they saw Legolas' eyes blurring open once more, a funny sort of look on his face.  
  
"What is going on?" The King demanded looking from each child, to the one lolling about on the floor in some type of state. Before anyone could answer, Legolas spoke in a semi aware voice.  
  
"Congratulations on the wedding." He attempted to reach out to his father's hand adding, "They're going to get married, and let me say it's about time." With that he blacked out, diverting the attention from the reddening couple.  
  
"Why is he lying on the floor passed out, explain." Thranduil demanded, his worry slightly subsided as he saw there was a reason for his son's condition, none of the other three seemed overly concerned, and that Legolas' symptoms seemed none to severe.  
  
"We can explain that later ada, we should get him to the Healing Wing." Kaimelar interjected, bending down to scoop his brother's form into his arms, but Thranduil stopped him.  
  
"He can wait, let's say we're just letting him rest, besides we have Helyanwe here to watch over him." He stopped for a moment, looking from his eldest to the young healer; that could wait he decided.  
  
"It was an accident. Legolas tripped down the stairs; he probably hit his head, his ankle is also sprained, but it is not serious in the least so we figure not even bother you with it, since you have been so busy with official matters." Sildulin explained in earnest, for some reason the truth sounding like a convenient lie when heard from her own ears. Her father raised an eyebrow, deciding if he should believe his daughter, she rarely earned his distrust, she was the voice of reason in the normally chaotic home that was theirs. And when it came down to it, he was much to stressed to care if it was false or not, it sounded reasonable, she looked honest; too bad for Legolas he thought though, he was going to get it for a bit when the news of his catlike grace got out. How does one of his physical prowesses manage to fall down stairs, he sighed out the question, then looked to his other son, forgetting about the one lying on the floor unaware.  
  
"Congratulations?" That was all he said, and it was enough.  
  
***  
Legolas slowly opened his eyes, feeling as though he had awoken from a long nap; a deep soothing nap. The ethereal feeling of waking up soon dissolved into sheer terror as he recognized where he was lying; in a bed, in the Healing Wing. The nauseous feeling of before soon hit him, as the dread of being fussed over dawned on him, from beside him he heard a self satisfied laughter, he turned his head and saw his brother looking at him with mirthful eyes.  
  
"Enjoy the nap Little Leaf?" Legolas rolled his eyes at his brother's joke, obviously take a queer pleasure in his plight.  
  
"Where's ada?" Legolas asked sounding like an unpleased little elfling, the frown upon his face adding to the image.  
  
"Busy in his study." Legolas' face fell as he assumed that his father would be there when he awoke, he was always there when he was hurt, waiting beside his bedside to make sure he was alright. What was different about now? He felt slighted, nearly unloved, but he looked to his brother, at least he had some type of consolation and perhaps this was better, his father would try to keep him there and fuss, his brother could probably care less if he tried to escape the smothering confines of the room. "Well, I should thank you."  
  
Legolas looked to his brother, confused, what had he done recently to earn a sign of thanks. There was the incident when he fell gracefully after Kaimelar had knocked him down the stairs, but really he didn't think that much of that incident.  
  
Kaimelar laughed at his brother's blank face and continued, "Before you dozed off during dinner, you happened to congratulate Anwe and I on our engagement. Well, you knew I was nervous about telling adar, but you took care of it for us, even if it was unintentional. As a sign of my thanks, I have waited here until you woke, and now I assume your awareness might denote a readiness to leave?"  
  
Legolas shook his head eagerly, slightly regretting as he felt a slight, dull pain issue itself in his head, but slowly it left, that was a good sign, he decided. "Do you have a plan?"  
  
"Do I have a plan, last I checked I was not only the prince of these fine woods, but the fiancé of one of the finest healers in our realm. We have it all worked out, should be simple, but mind you there will be search parties for you throughout the palace walls once they have realized the escapade we have pulled off."  
  
There amusement of their own intelligence was cut short, as shouting from the hall caught both of their attentions. They sat silent and still, ears perked listening for the cause of the commotion, their questions to be answered as a dark haired elf ran into the room and focused his attention to Kaimelar. Both princes noted the worry and sadness in his eyes; they held their breaths until the other spoke.  
  
"Prince Kaimelar, your presence is required in the stables." Was all he said, Kai rose quickly, unsure of what was happening but the worse case scenario had already thrust itself upon his heart.  
  
"What has happened?" He asked in a dead, low tone, not sure he wanted to hear the words uttered by the attendant standing in the doorway.  
  
"Your horse, sir, there has been an attack upon your horse. I would advise you to get there as quickly as your feet may carry you." Legolas looked to his brother, well aware of what his horse meant to him, knowing how he would feel if he had heard any dark word about his own. But Kai's face remained a slate of blank expression, but Legolas could see the muscles beneath his face go to war as they attempted to keep the emotion locked in. He lay motionless as his brother quickly went to exit, stopping for a second to turn to his little brother.  
  
"Do not leave this room. Do you hear me, stay here." Legolas nodded, not wanting to add to his brother's worry, aware that the assurance of his safety within the confines of the walls was one less burden for his brother to carry. He took a breath, and listened, waiting for the conformation of what both brother's had guessed: the horse had been murdered. The prize stallion of his brother's had been killed, and all that was left to figure out was who perform such an atrocious act against nature; what kind of being could be so cold blooded as to murder an innocent creature of nature, such a treasured member of the prince's heart. And once that mystery could be solved the next question lurking in the deep dwellings of his mind was, why.  
  
***Another chapter, up later than I wished but homework has been gaining top priority as of recent. I hope you enjoyed it, and sadly enough I killed a horse with my words, which makes me very sad. So, please review if you'd like and give me your insight, I'd love to hear it. And thank you for reading!***  
  
Jamie: Thank you so much for your review, I am so glad you continue to like what I write, it's so nice to hear that, not only about this one but the others. It really does make me happy to hear that other people enjoy what I write!  
  
Jambaby1963: Sorry to say he did not collapse in his soup, though it would have been funny, I definitely agree with that, but they didn't have time to have dinner served so I never added it, though take my word for it, it was almost part of the story.and is right now noted done for a funny antic in a later story. But I'm glad you like it so far, and hope you continue to do so.  
  
Deana: So glad that you're continuing to read my stuff, it makes me feel like I'm doing alright in all this. Yeah, head injuries are never great and it seems like Legolas got himself a good one, I don't think he could ever live his life unscathed when it comes to these type stories. But thanks for the review and thanks so much for reading. 


	3. Above their heads

***Disclaimed, for more detailed disclaimer look to other chapters***  
  
The rest of the week had gone by without event, but the tension from the massacre of the horse still hung thickly. Legolas had spent most of the time away from his family, spending time with many of his friends, though he was well aware that his father had ordered someone to keep an eye on him far afar. Though regularly he would have been bothered to know end by such an act, but his grief and confusion over what had happened made him care little, there were was so much more to worry about.  
  
But now he was home, there was a scarcity of elves walking around the halls, and those he did pass were regularly on the run, carrying for errands and business of the utmost importance. He feet scuffled, he felt like a child, useless; especially at this hour of the day. Not wanting to bother anyone, training sessions were done with, his friends with their families. There was even little he could do with the wedding preparations that were continuing to proceed, how was he to know what flowers would look nice together? He could hear the laughter of Sildulin and Helyanwe laughing in the distant, it was less strained now, sounded natural; he wished he could join in with them, but did not want to intrude on their sister time. This was a situation he rarely found himself in, being the youngest he had always been the center of attention and now he felt like a wall ornament. Rolling his eyes at his own selfish thought, he found himself falling back as he bumped into his father's frame. He looked up startled, to see his father's amused face, reaching a hand down to help him out.  
  
"Quite graceful, ion nin. I think, if I were you, I would refrain from falling down and running into things until the jokes of your other clumsy moment had calmed." Legolas gave his father a look, but grinned, glad to see his father laughing. Perhaps things were turning for the better, his sister laughing, his father smiling, maybe everything was going to be okay and now they could all concentrate completely on the joy of planning his brother's and Helyanwe's marriage.  
  
"But ada, if I remained the pinnacle of beauty and grace, as I have been told I am," his father raised and eyebrow at his son, surprised by the strange delve into vanity and ego, wondering where he would take it, Legolas was pleased by the response. "Could you imagine how decimated your troops would become when I was able to join, everyone would quit for fear of competing with my perfection. So I do this merely for yours, as well as all Mirkwood's, own good."  
  
"You are too good to us Legolas, but I am glad you have let me into your plot. I was worrying for a while all those times we had dropped you on your head when you were a baby had affected your equilibrium now."  
  
"Dropped me on my head? You're kidding, right?" Legolas looked to his father expectantly, but his father's face would not break, he could not read a lie in his eye. "Right, adar? Naneth would never have done that!"  
  
"Oh, yes, of course, I was joking." But his face remained like stone, Legolas could not tell if this was a ploy or not; was his father trying to set him up to some big joke?  
  
"Ada!" Legolas exclaimed, needing reassurances of his father's teasing, but was gaining no advantage. It was not till much later in the day, after hours of pestering his father while he was busy at work, that he was finally told the truth; though Legolas still wondered.  
  
***  
  
"I was thinking, as a gift for Kai that I could give him a young stallion my adar's horse had just bore." Helyanwe mentioned to Sildulin as they rummaged through some fabric that ha been brought for their viewing, she fingered gently a piece of rich green silk.  
  
"I know he would love it." Sildulin answered, they were both aware of the grief that Kaimelar was experiencing, the sight of seeing his horse lying torn and bleeding still resided deep in his mind. No one could have imagined that anyone within the Mirkwood borders would be capable of behaving in such a disgusting cruel manner. The shock wave was felt by all, and the rumors spread through the kingdom such as a plague in the human's settlement. But with only a week's time, things had once again began to calm and return to a normal pattern; but beneath the skin everyone close to the scene of the crime still felt a fell air, and within their habitual routine still waited for what else might happen.  
  
"I would just like to see a real smile from him, I know it sounds selfish and I know he must grieve, but, I miss my Kai." Helyanwe sighed, dropping the fabric and picking up another, absently. "I would like to hope as our wedding approaches perhaps he'll grow lighter again. Can you believe it though? We're to be wed, in a mere month Kai and I will be bound together forever." By the time she finished she was fluttering like a girl, Sildulin joined in the girlish laughter, the very laughter Legolas had heard from the hall, and the laughter that would continue to bound through the halls of their home for quite some time.  
  
***  
  
"You missed again Tulcahrve pointed out, slightly bemused, but there was something else mixed in with the words; a careful tread. Though he knew Kai would never begrudge him, rarely spoke and angry word, he didn't want to see his delicate temper flare. Nor did he want to upset him further, but it was his duty as the prince's best friend to be just that; he had learned through the years the right amount of humor and delicacy that was required when Kai was in such a fragile place.  
  
"It was the wind." Kaimelar retorted, a fake smile appeared on his face as he tried to please Tulcahrve, presenting a show of a good mood. The two walked over to the target and pulled out their arrows.  
  
"You know, an archer of your skill should be able to compensate for the wind by now, I mean, even Las can do it and he's how old?" Kai shoved his friend, but began to laugh at the memory of the first time Legolas practiced in the wind, the young one's frustration at being unable to come close to hitting anything. For the first time in awhile, his thoughts strayed from the image of his horse lying maimed in the stables, back to happy times of the past. And more than the past, the future, he thought, that was going to prove to be an amazing adventure. He never once imagined in his younger days, even a hundred years before that he was going to be engaged to the most beautiful girl to ever grace his eyes, his cheeks reddened as he pictured her in his head.  
  
"Hey, quit looking at me like that." Tulcahrve said, but before either could enjoy the joke, the grew rigid in attention; they weren't alone, someone was near them. The sound of rustling leaves ceased, and things grew quiet, but neither relaxed, they could still sense another presence, whether menacing or not they could not tell. They both looked to each other, Kai nodded his head to the left, Tulcah nodded, and began to drift in that direction, arrow notched, ears alert. After watching Tulcah scout the area in the other direction, Kai began to scan the area above him, searching for any sign of anything. The silence was broken with the sound of a breaking twig, giving away the sight of the perpetrator. He raised his bow, looking for a specific target, he chuckled as he caught himself adjusting to the wind. Before he could release anything an arrow whizzed by his head, leaving a thin trail of blood across his right cheek, he released his own arrow, hoping to reach his target. He could hear one of Tulcah's in the distance also be set free and then a thud, as whoever had been shooting at them was now down.  
  
Kai waited until Tulcah had returned to his side, so they could investigate together, safety in numbers. Tulcah raised an eyebrow when he caught sight of Kai's bleeding the cheek, the prince shook his head, without a word it was resolved and they pushed forward.  
  
"He's gone." Tulcah said, frustration evident.  
  
"How do you know, we've barely searched this area." Tulcah pointed up, and Kai noticed the broken branches, this is where the shooter would have been, he also noticed blood on the leaves below.  
  
"You can hear it, he's running south." Tulcah threw his arms up in anger, the usually casual warrior allowing for his fierceness to peak through. He hated that his friend was threatened, his horse had died; if there was evil out to get his friend it killed him that he missed the chance to eradicate it.  
  
"It's alright." Kai remarked, putting a hand on Tulcah's soldier. "We need to get back, report this. If he's going south, we'll have border controls concentrate there, search that area for clues."  
  
"We could follow him." Tulcah offered, knowing what his friend's answer would be.  
  
"The best thing to do is get back, there is little we can do, we do not know the numbers we may face if we continue that way." Tulcah nodded, knowing it was true, but at the same time felt a desperate urge to continue to chase. "Come, the more we linger here, the less chance of finding evidence."  
  
The two walked in silence for some time, until Tulcah smiled at his friend. "You know if it weren't for this wind, I would have gotten him dead on."  
  
***Okay, it was sort of short, especially considering how long it's taken to read it but you know how school is. But I hope you liked it, and I am really going to try to get another chapter up by the weekend. Thanks for reading and please review!!***  
  
Jamie: Thanks for your review, maybe I can write the sibling thing cause I am the middle child of three, so you get kind of used to hearing brothers and sisters talk to each other, and besides its fun. But I really appreciate the support! Thanks  
  
Deana: Thanks for thinking the story is cool, it's actually been kind of tough to write, like a big road block is there as I am trying to write, but slowly and surely it comes along, and we'll see how it turns out.  
  
Jambaby1963: Legolas has become such a fun character to write about, especially when you read how other people interpret it. Tolkien wrote a character with very little history so it's fun to create one, even if it does include falling into stupors at the dinner table announcing his brother's wedding, thanks for the review. 


	4. Sleeping threat

***Disclaimed***  
  
Thranduil sat silently, looking across the table at Verya who was reading over the parchment handed to him. Scrutinizing over every movement of the captain's face, Thranduil finally placed his hands in his head; Verya was frowning, a discrete change for the others, barely noticeable, but to the King who had known Verya for years upon years it was drastic.  
  
"Where was this left?" The captain asked, after finishing.  
  
"In Prince Kaimelar's room, on his bed, well, stabbed into his bed." Seregon, an elven officer of some rank answered, being the first elf after Kai to see the note. Verya nodded solemnly, what they had all tried to subdue as a coincidence was know an unknown threat they could not turn a blind eye towards. Whomever the attacker was had the ability to make his way through the palace walls, might very well be in this room, Verya thought cynically, saddened by the thought that anyone he was so close to would betray his second family.  
  
"The knife had no markings?" Verya asked, though he guessed what the answer would be, the perpetrator had been careful thus far, he would not be so careless as to leave a flashing sign of identification. And even there had been, it may be part of a plot to frame someone, Verya despised all of this; the whole threatening conspiracy.  
  
"It was a weapon made by human hands, so whomever this is has had dealings with one of the local human villages, because we are certain the threat is that of an elf's," Another elven officer, Osta, spoke.  
  
"Do we have any idea of why?" Thranduil spoke suddenly, the wear of worrying finally getting to him, the threat to his eldest so close; Kai could have easily been in that bed when the knife was thrust, what was stopping it from happening. Well, he would stop he thought, he and everyone hear would protect Kai's life; these elves were the best at what they did, he was sure of that, and he trusted them, even if doubt and anxiety lingered there with it.  
  
"No, sir, we have not determined a motive, except, well, these events all started after the announcement of the marriage." Osta spoke apprehensively, everyone involved with solving the mystery was uncertain how the king would take this.  
  
"The wedding?" The King mused on these words, it was true, now that he thought on it. Could they really call off the wedding because of what was happening? Kai would never allow that, not ever, he would rather die than give up Helyanwe. So, finally, the only course of action was to find this hidden threat and eradicate it. But quietly, all of this had to be taken care of amongst this small group, if this thing could get into the palace without notice, then who knows what other information it was privy too. The less information that leaked out the better.  
  
***  
  
"Well what is the meeting about?" Alasse asked, lying on her back with her hands behind her hair. Legolas tossed another stone into the river, not doing a very good job at skipping them; it bothered him to no end that he had never been able to figure out how to skip stones, everyone else picked it up easy enough, except him.  
  
"I think it's still about that mystery shooter, they never caught him."  
  
"Or her." Alasse interjected, though she wouldn't be proud if it was one of her sex to be the one who acted so cold bloodedly, she would not allow the to glaze over the fact that there was another sex besides males that were capable of wielding a weapon.  
  
"Don't worry, he didn't forget, Al. Trust me, we never forget." Arato sighed from his spot sitting on a branch just above her.  
  
"Then why did Legolas fail to mention it?"  
  
"Cause if he had you would have been on his case about how girls don't like to kill things, blah, blah, blah." Arato retorted, speaking carelessly; too tired to care about riling his friend up and being berated for it. But instead of getting too invested in her friend's words, Alasse ignored him, sensing his lulled mood, at moments it was a waste of words speaking to him. Rather, she focused her attention to Legolas, whom was growing more and more frustrated at his ineptness with the stones; she got up and walked to where he stood. Picking up her own stone, she skipped it effortlessly, Legolas rolled his eyes at sat down.  
  
"You know the less you try the easier it is." She commented, but realized that all the events occurring had bothered him more than he had let on to them. "The King, I mean, your adar will take care of everything. Has he ever let any of you come to harm before?"  
  
"I know, of course I know, but you never know." Legolas finished. Though his father had tried to keep the latest incident under wraps, Legolas' ears were capable of hearing things that were not meant for him, but he understood why his father kept it from him so had failed to mention it to anyone else. But as he sat here, with his closest, most trusted friends with him, he would have very much liked to just let the secret explode. It would be so easy and he knew they would keep it quiet, they would promise not to tell anyone else, but who knows. Illustrated by his own need to relieve the burden of this secret, why wouldn't his friends feel the same need to divulge their own to their families? That's how things started. Besides he didn't want to bother his friends with problems that didn't really affect them, it wasn't fair.  
  
"Hey, Kai's one of the best warriors in these parts, he can take care of himself." Arato added, he looked up to Kai as a hero, after observing him in a demonstration some of the warriors had put on for all the new novices on their first day of training. Ever since then he had talked Legolas' ear off for information on his brother, to catch a glimpse at the crowned prince who was so skilled with his blades.  
  
"I don't doubt he couldn't take himself in a battle, but this isn't the same. It's like he's being hunted. How can he protect himself a threat that keeps itself hidden?"  
  
"We'll all keep our eyes alert. That can help, right?" Alasse supported, wanting to do whatever she could not only to protect her prince but also keep Legolas from getting depressed about everything that was happening.  
  
"Yeah, Al and I are the top of our class, and you're not too bad either."  
  
"Not too bad? If I recall properly, during our last sparing match I had you on your back faster than one could blink an eye." Legolas said, the mood shifting. Arato jumped from his branch and walked to the other two.  
  
"I let you win, you're the prince; isn't there a law against showing you up?" Arato teased.  
  
"Well if you continue to be my sparing partner I do not see a need for such a law." Legolas retorted. Arato picked up a stone, and like Alasse before him, calmly tossed it into the river, the stone following a gentle arch as it skipped across the water's surface; afterwards Arato looked to Legolas with a challenging smile. In return, Legolas gave him a friendly shove.  
  
"Let's see how harmful a jumping stone is when your facing an orc."  
  
***  
  
"What do you think of all of this?" Helyanwe asked, as she nuzzled closer into Kai's neck. She could feel him release a breath, and then tighten his grip around her body, using her as his support. It made her want to cry, everything was going wrong, this was supposed to be the happiest time of her life and there the two of them were, in a tense embrace, fearing for the other's life. She knew that he was the target, no threat had been made on her, but he insisted whomever this elf was they were using him to get to her.  
  
"I don't know yet. I want to think it would all just go away, but it doesn't seem to be." It felt good to have her there with him though, for all the apprehension he felt through the day, these were the moments that he thought maybe the world spinning around them was not as dangerous, that perhaps they would wake up tomorrow and realize everything had been a bad dream. All he wanted to do was marry the one elf that he loved more than anything or anyone else, and he was being denied that. No, he told himself, he was not, nothing would hinder him from going through with this. He would not allow anyone to stop him from; he had worked to hard to attain happiness. For all the pain and disappointment he had felt through the years, he had a right to the blissful moment when he and Helyanwe would forever be bound.  
  
Helyanwe closed her eyes, in the end this could be a good thing, for all they suffered now would make the end reward that much brighter. At least they would have a tale for their children, she thought amused, and in his arms dreamt of the future that they were coming every day closer to reaching.  
  
***Well, I did it, I finished another chapter within a week's time!! And could I just apologize for spelling a grammar mistakes. I was rereading something I had written before and noticed a lot, I'm going to make an admission, I don't always edit these things before, so sorry for that. But anyways, thanks for making it through another chapter, hope you enjoyed it and I would be delighted for any reviews!!! Hey, and maybe I can get another chapter up this weekend, I mean it is a three day one, with President's Day and all.***  
  
Jamie: Funny enough, the conversation between Legolas and his father is actually based on a conversation my mother and I had. I still don't know if she was joking or not, hope the little admission doesn't ruin the moment for you. And of course, school comes first!!! And I'm glad that as a teacher you like what I've been writing thus far!  
  
Daw the Minstrel: What a nice review. I really feel complemented! It's been a great amount of fun creating these other characters, and seeing how everyone works together and I'm glad that you are enjoying the suspense. And hope you are intrigued enough to continue to read. Thanks!!  
  
Jambaby1963: I hope the plot has continued to thicken for you in this chapter and I hope when the end of the mystery is finally solved that you still enjoy it all.  
  
Deana: Hope I posted this soon enough, I'm really proud that I managed to get it written as fast as I did, I've been kind of letting the writing slip a bit, but I hope though it's quickly written, that it's still up to standards. 


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